Deans’ Council Minutes
September 5, 2006

Attendance : Dr. Frank Ashley, Dr. Keith McFarland, Dr. Hal Langford , Dr. James Klein, Dr. James Vornberg , Dr. Joe Webber , Dr. Mary Hendrix, Dr. Yvette Underdue Murph and Mr. Gregory Mitchell.

Presidential Comments – President McFarland expressed concern regarding etiquette used on campus in handling telephone calls. There will be training developed for employees regarding this issue. Administrators, faculty and staff should be reminded to demonstrate professionalism when preparing electronic correspondence.

Ensuring Online Course Quality – In summer 2006, Texas A&M-Commerce began using eCollege to deliver online courses. Charlotte Larkin, Director of Instructional Technology and Distance Education (ITDE), reviewed the following Distance Education requirements with the Council to ensure online course quality:

1. Faculty must teach a web-supported course, prior to offering a web-based course. (Web-supported course is defined as more than 50% of instruction is face to face)

2. Faculty must use the university's designated course management system eCollege. Classes must be coded .01W to .04W if they are on-line.

3. Faculty must follow the principles of best practice as defined by The Coordinating Board. Faculty can not decide after classes begin to make a face-to face class an on-line class.

4. Faculty that have teaching assistants may not have that teaching assistant registered n a course in which the assistant is also a registered student in that course.

5. Faculty must attend eCollege training.

Additionally, an online faculty evaluation will serve as a formative/summative instrument to assess effectiveness of instruction presented to students. The ITDE Department will administer the instrument four (4) weeks after the first class day of each fall and spring semester; two (2) days after the first class day of each summer semester; and one (1) day after the classes begin during mini-terms. Data will be gathered and concerns reported to the faculty member, department head, and dean. The instrument will be administered again at the end of the semester or term to assess student satisfaction. Data regarding online instruction will be analyzed and reported to the Office of Institutional Research on an annual basis. The Distance Education Taskforce will analyze data and prepare recommendations for improvement. Using the data and recommendations, the ITDE Director and Associate Vice-president for Academic Affairs will develop an action plan describing: strategies, resources required, responsible parties, timelines, and performance measures. The action plan will be prepared annually to coincide with the university's budget cycle.

Faculty may receive financial incentives for creating a course ($500) and for teaching a course for the first time ($500). In order to receive the assistance, a Standard Agreement Form must be completed and returned to ITDE.  The ITDE Support Team is knowledgeable with eCollege and is willing to assist faculty even on the off campus sites.   

Ms. Julie McElhany is the new ITDE Instructional Designer; she will begin employment, next week and will be ready to assist faculty with their training needs. There are some on-line training courses available for faculty not residing in Commerce or close surrounding areas. The university would be willing to pay the costs of these courses. This fall (2006) there are 125 online courses available and 3,756 students enrolled.

Use of Paper Class Schedules – Dr. Murph is in the processing of gathering information regarding the use of paper class schedules at other institutions. As soon as the information can be obtained, the Council will review to determine if changes would be appropriate for TAMU-C.

International Student Issues – Some international students have expressed concern that they have been required to pay in-state tuition because they failed to receive scholarship awards that meet the state threshold ($1000 per year) qualifying them for the resident tuition rate. They also expressed concern regarding how Graduate Assistant (GA) positions are advertised on campus. The Council discussed these issues.

Because all housing scholarships have been allocated and because the Texas Education Code specifies that all scholarships should be made on a competitive basis to residents and non-resident students, the deans agreed that it is too late to implement a scholarship award program this fall.

Deans were asked to communicate to department heads that all graduate assistant vacancies should be advertised on the Graduate School website:

http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/gradschool/ga/index.asp

It was recommended that International Orientation should be scheduled earlier next year. This year's orientation was held the Friday before classes began on Monday; whereby, adequate time was not available to get student registered into classes. The Dean of Student Affairs agreed to check into this and report at the next council meeting.

Honors and Rayburn Colleges – A team of faculty members has been assembled from all of the Colleges, as well as, Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. The team will be discussing what is needed in the Honors and Rayburn Colleges and to develop a vision for these colleges. The colleges will assist with recruitment efforts.

Disruptive Behavior in the Classroom - Faculty should be specific in their syllabi regarding the consequences of disruptive behavior. Student Affairs can provide assistance with due process in addressing these matters. Some areas of concern that may need to be addressed in the syllabus are: the use of cell phones; appropriate dress; children in the classroom; etc., Dr. Webber suggested faculty refer to the Student Guidebook regarding the code of conduct.

Search Planning, Advertising and Open Positions – The Provost requested the Deans to provide his office with a list of open positions so that planning can be made for advertising positions. In preparation of AY 06-07 search planning, the Human Resource office is available to attend Executive Committee meeting to review search process and procedures with faculty.

Fall Commencement – Discussion was held regarding the location of Fall Commencement. One of the main concerns was that students have adequate tickets. Before making a decision, the group decided to wait until the end of the month to see how many graduates will be participating in this semester's ceremonies.

Faculty Insurance – New faculty will not have insurance until December 1. They must wait ninety (90) days before their insurance becomes effective.

Signage at the Stadium – The new signage at the stadium is “Home of the Lions” which will be placed directly under the pressbox.

Fall PAC Retreat – A retreat has been planned for the President's Advisory Council, Provost, Deans, and Department Heads. The retreat is scheduled for Thursday, October 19. It will be an all day event.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Parking at Events – Council members were reminded to notify University Police Department (UPD) when they have major events scheduled such as concerts, conferences, etc UPD can assist with parking issues if they are notified in advance.

Rollover Requests – Requests are due to the Provost Office no later than September 11.

New Faculty/Staff Picnic – September 19 is the date for the New Faculty/Staff picnic which will be held at the President's residence.